Self-cleaning grouter foe tractor-wheels and the like



S. T. ALLEN. SELF CLEANING (mourn FOR TRACTOR WHEELS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14,1918.

f1 ,309,006, Patented July 8, 1919;

INVENTOR. SHERMAN 7TA LLEN ATTORNEYS.

THE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAFH c0., WASHINGTON, n. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. A 1

SHERMAN. 'r. ALLEN, OF nos ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOIR. on ONE-HALF 'ro JOSEPH H; HUNT,.0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SELF-CLEANING GROUTER FOBfTRACTQR-WHEELS AND THE'LIKE.

Specification of Letters fatnt.

' Patented July 8,1919.

Application filedNovember 14, 1918. Serial No. 262,514.

To all whom it'may.concern..'. Be it known that I, SHERMAN TMAIJLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ofTLos Angeles and State of Galifornia,have invented: new and useful Improvements in: Self-Cleaning Grouters for Tractor-Wheels andithe'like, of which the following isla; specification; My invention relates to self-cleaning'grouters for tractor-wheels and the like, and consists ofthenovelfea-tures herein shown, described and claimed. 1 i 1 Specifically, my objectris tomake a selfcleaning grouterwhich may easily, be' detached and attached to the rim. of a. tractor wheel and to=otherforms of traction wheels.

A leading feature of. my self-cleaninggroutcr is the provision of radial. pipes through whicht-hesoil is continually forced, the soil falling out of; thepipes at the: outer side of the rim, whereas in the old form. of traction tread the lugs press the soil: into the ground and. pack it.

Another objectof my invention. is toprovide a-gripping face for traction wheels consisting of: open. pipes arranged? radially" so that they Will bite and dig into the soil: as the wheel revolves in a manner similar to the actionvof' the toe and heel of a horses hoof, and so that: the soil will pass through the pipes leavingpractically unpackedlho'les in the ground;.

Another ob'ect of; my invention is to pro= vide a traction face'consisting of pipes'areranged radially around the rim-and ropecting outwardly, and to mount the-aplpes so. that they may be easily removed when worn and new pipes easily substituted:

Another object of my invention is to substitute the strength and durability of pipes for the cast-irontraction lugs heretofore in Another feature of my invention consists in the novel felly clip by which the traction face is easily secured to the rim of the wheel and as easily removed.

Another feature of my invention is the specific form of grouter forming the traction surface which may be cast, tumbled and assembled without any machine work.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective of a traction wheel equipped with a'self-cleaning grouter embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2cis a view analogous to Fig.1 showing, the parts from a dlfferent angle.

Fig. 3 is fragmentary edge View showing'how the grouter is secured to the wheel rim by a felly clip.

F ig..4.is a fragmentary cross sectional detail on the lines 44 of Figs. 3 and 5.

Fig. 5-is a fragmentary sectional detail on the line 55. ofFig. 4.

Referring: to the drawing in detail, the wheel rim 1' has a flat periphery 2 and flat edges 3 and 4. Thisrim may be a part of any desired type of traction wheel and is not? my invention.

The grouterf5 is adapted to fit the pee I riphery 2? of the Wheel rim 1 and a sufficient number of the grouters 5-will make a compl'etet-read face upon the rim: 1. j

The main: part of the grouter 5 is a casting and. consists of the central portion 6 having preferably two sockets 7' to receive the pipes 8- and" 9; the inclined supporting walls 10 and 11 extending from the opposite sides of the central portion 6 and flar ing outwardly; the feet 12, 13, 14 and 15 extending inwardly from the outer ends of the outeredges of the walls 10 and 1-1 and bearing against the periphery 2; the flanges 16 and. 17 extending outwardly from the The feet 14 and 15 of the grouter 5 have toes20 and 21 to fit under the bearings 18v and 19 ofthe grouter' 22, and in alike manner the grouter'23has toes to fit' under the bearings 18 and l9of the grouter 5', and in arranging to apply'the grouters to'a wheel the patterns'are made so that-when a desired number of the grouters have been applied to the periphery ofthe wheel the tread surface of the" wheel will be complete. In other words, a certain number of the grouters will fit and cover the periphery of the rim of the wheel. The grouter 5 is substantially the same length from the end face 24 to the end face 25 as the rim 1 from the edge 3 to the edge 4. In making the grouter 5, the pattern is constructed to core the bolt holes 26 and 27 through the bearings 18 and 19 and to core or make the pipe openings 28 in the sockets 7 for the pipes 8 and 9. The pipes 8 and 9 are short pieces cut from a length of pipe of the desired size and the pipe sections are driven tightly into the openings 28 so that the pipes 8 and 9 will project substantially equal distances in radial lines outwardly from the face of the central portion 6.

The end faces of the bearings 18 and 19 are flush with the end faces 24: and 25 and are substantially in the same planes as the edges 3 and 1 of the rim 1. The felly clips 29 and 30 are placed against the end faces of the bearings 18 and 19 and against the edges 3 and 4, and carriage bolts 31 and 32 are inserted from the inner sides through the bearings 18 and 19 outwardly through the clips 29 and 30 and nuts 33 and 34 are applied to the outer ends of the bolts, so as to draw the clips 29 and 30 tightly against the bearings 18 and 19 and the edges 3 and 4. The clips 29 and 30 are L-shaped and have inturned ends 35 and 36 to engage inside of the rim 1 so as to hold the grouters securely upon the rim. The flanges 16 and 17 fit close together, as shown in Fig. 5, and the two flanges cover the space between a pair of the bearings 18 and 19.

It is obvious that the main casting 5 may be made from a simple pattern and that when the pattern is properly made the castings will fit the periphery of the rim of the wheel for which they are intended, and it is only necessary to make the castings, put the castings through a tumbler or otherwise clean the castings, place them in position upon the rim and apply the clips and bolts. When the pipes 8 and 9 are worn, or otherwise damaged, they may be readily driven out of the sockets and new pipes applied.

Heretofore in the various traction treads the gumbo and adobe soil will stick to the tread faces and fill the depressions and make a practically smooth tread. In the use of my invention the walls 10 and 11 are sharply inclined outwardly so as to make A-shaped troughs between the grouters and the gumbo, adobe and other soils, will readily drop from these troughs. Thepipes '8 and 9 make teeth of the desired length which will penetrate the soil and prevent slipping, and these pipes will cut into the soil and the soil will pass upwardly throughthe pipes and be discharged from their upperends. In this way the soil is not packed by the gripping teeth as in the use of solid teeth. As the traction wheels roll along upon the surface of the ground the pipes 8 and 9 will strike the ground at an incline and leave the ground at an incline and will bite and dig into the soil in a manner similar to the action of a horses hoof when pulling a heavy load. 7

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A grouter for traction wheels consisting of a central portion having pipe sockets, inclined supporting walls extending outwardly from opposite sides of the central portion, feet extending outwardly from the outer sides of the inclined walls, bearings formed integral with the feet at the outer side of one wall, toes extending from the opposite feet so that the toes of one grouter will fit under the bearings of the next grouter, and means for securing the grouter to the rim of a wheel.

2. A grouter for traction wheels consisting of a central portion having pipe sockets, inclined supporting walls extending outwardly from opposite sides of the central portion, feet extending outwardly from the outer sides of the inclined walls, bearings formed integral with the feet at the outer side of one wall, toes extending from the opposite feet so that'the toes of one grouter will fit under the bearings of the next grouter, means for'securing the grouter to the rim of a wheel, and pipes removably mounted'in the pipe sockets.

3. The combination with a wheel rim, of a series of grouter bodies adapted to fit the periphery of the rim and forming chamhers opening toward both edges of the rim, and pi e sections removably mounted radially t ough the grouter bodies, the openings in the pipes communicating with the chambers.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, a

SHERMAN T. ALLEN. l

Copies of this patentmay be obtained for-five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. V 

